When the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010, what it would overhaul was decided on as well. However, with many provisions just now or not yet coming into effect, it’s still largely unclear how the act will impact most Americans.
It’s also just as unclear how the public will perceive the new health care law, which is considered by many to be the most significant domestic policy initiatives of Barack Obama’s presidency, after it has been fully implemented.
“It’s definitely a huge change in the health care system in our country… there will be hiccups along the way,” said Caitlin Roberts, president of Ohio University College Democrats. “In the long run it’s definitely going to help our country, and people are going to be much happier with it.”
Despite a rocky rollout of the law’s online health insurance marketplace, state Rep. Debbie Phillips, D-Athens, said she has not heard of fellow Democrats trying to distance themselves from the law.
“The ACA is far more than a website,” Phillips said. “Once those technical problems get fixed, people need to remember those policy changes.”
The rollout of healthcare.gov is “definitely in the Republican Party’s favor” and will likely be used in the 2014 election ads, said Dylan Gustafson, communications chair for Ohio University College Republicans.
But some Republicans are more interested in creating what they consider to be a better health care plan than just using it as political ammunition for future elections, Gustafson said.
“We need to at least somehow delay the rollout,” Gustafson said. “Whether or not you agree with the law or not, it clearly wasn’t ready.”
Though state Sen. Lou Gentile, D-Steubenville, admitted healthcare.gov has had its technical issues, he contended that many Republicans had failed to offer an alternative to the Affordable Care Act.
“Many of the Republicans who continue to rail on (the Affordable Care Act) haven’t offered up many solutions about how they are going to get affordable health care to the people,” Gentile said. “The bottom line is it’s the law of the land. My main focus at this point is that Ohioans who want access to affordable health care can get it.”
Kimberley Fletcher, visiting assistant professor of political science at Ohio University, called the ACA’s website rollout “unfortunate” and said she believes that the sooner the website’s glitches are solved, the better off Democrats will be.
“Those responsible for creating the website should have ensured that it was ready so that Obama didn’t look incompetent,” Fletcher said. “The confidence with the American public in the administration and the Democratic Party is weakening as the issue remains unresolved.”
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@LucasDaprile
